Chapter 3

Years of experience kicked in instantly.

"Landslide! Everyone, move against the rock wall—now!" I shouted, my body already reacting, pressed tight against the hard stone.

Although the team's morale had been crushed by Jack and Dakota earlier, their training still held. At my command, they immediately found safe positions.

The ground where we had just stood gave way. Huge rocks and dirt tumbled down, swallowed instantly by a cloud of dust.

Everyone broke into a cold sweat. One second later, and the consequences could've been disastrous.

"Shit! That was close!"

Dakota panicked, slipping and falling toward the edge of the cliff. Jack, nearest to her, lunged like lightning and caught her in his arms—the classic scene of the hero saving the damsel in distress.

Pathetic. I watched with icy eyes.

"Willow, what were you doing scouting ahead?" Jack, holding the trembling Dakota, roared at me like an enraged lion. "Didn't you sense the danger ahead? Is this how you're supposed to lead the team? You nearly scared Dakota to death—do you realize that?"

I looked at him. There was no anger, disappointment, or heartbreak left, just silence.

Night had fully fallen, and the mountain air had plunged into biting cold. We stumbled along the jagged trail, guided only by the weak glow of our headlamps.

Dakota had long since cried herself tired. She now clung to Jack like a koala. The rest of the team trailed behind in silence. The weight in the air was suffocating.

Only I pressed forward, tireless, cutting a path through the darkness. My body ached, but nothing compared to the numbness in my heart.

I moved like a programmed machine, and my only command was to find the lost team.

At 3:00 am, we finally stumbled upon a wind-sheltered cave. Inside were the missing university explorers. There were five of them, three men and two women, all in bad shape—pale faces, cracked lips, clearly starved and dehydrated for days.

When they saw us, their eyes lit up with the raw joy of survival. "They're here… The rescue team is here!"

Jack immediately switched back into his heroic captain mode, stepping forward to comfort the group. "Don't be afraid, everyone. We're here. Are you all okay?"

I ignored his performance. My eyes swept over the team, running a quick assessment of injuries. Most of them were just dehydrated and weak, with no obvious trauma.

Then, my gaze landed in the far corner of the cave, and my heart dropped. I ran over, parting the teammates around her.

A young man spoke frantically. "S-She's been struggling to breathe since last night… We thought she was just tired, but her condition kept worsening…"

I knelt, letting the light from my headlamp fall on her face. In that instant, the world seemed to stop. Nancy's face was pale with a bluish tint, her eyes tightly shut, her nostrils trembling ever so slightly…

Behind me, Jack came closer, probably wanting to check on each member in his captain role. When his flashlight swept over Nancy's face, his practiced smile froze mid-expression.

A raw, inhuman scream tore from his throat the next second. "N-Nancy? W-Why are you here?"

He scrambled toward her, voice shaking uncontrollably. "Nancy, wake up! Dad's here! It's me! Look at me, Nancy!"

I didn't have time to watch his breakdown. Every ounce of calm, every piece of professional knowledge I had buried in my body, returned at once.

I reached for Nancy's neck to check her pulse. It was so faint I could barely feel it. Her chest barely rose and fell, her breathing shallow and rapid, her throat letting out a faint wheeze.

This was a full-blown, acute asthma attack that had lingered for far too long. She was on the brink of death. Immediate medication was the only option.

"Willow!" one of the more experienced rescuers shouted, seeing the danger. "Don't you have the asthma medicine with you? Get it, quick!"

In desperation, Jack's eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed my arm as if I were the last lifeline on earth. "That's right, Willow! You have the medicine! Quick—give it to her!"

His eyes burned with hope, but I didn't move. Slowly, I turned my head and locked my gaze on Dakota, who stood not far away, stunned by the scene before.

"That medicine? Well, they were thrown off the cliff to make room for her cosmetics."